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An African Tale

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.. but not as long as time before humans, there was a large freshwater lake in the middle of the southern continent now known as Africa.'

Thus begins a fascinating work of children's fiction - a fairytale - set in Africa, land of extremes: drought; flood; beauty; devastation; vibrant life and miserable death. In the beginning, a god named Molemo controlled the weather and water. For many years, humans lived in balance with water and the world around them but `as always happens with humans, the easier things became the more restless, discontented, and selfish they became.' Their settlements expanded which led to overuse of resources and led to depletion and pollution. Molemo warned them, and they heeded his warning - for a while.

Eventually, Molemo loses patience and the village and lake are destroyed. The few survivors rely on waterfinders. One such waterfinder is Ledimo. Ledimo finds a magic stone that enables its bearer to control water and is given a choice by Molemo: `eternal life or death'. Ledimo's choice of immortality, life and subsequent events sets the scene for the future in which two of his descendants will be able to harness the power of the stone, but only if they are in agreement.
Following the journey through the generations is fascinating. I especially enjoyed the talking gecko and the friendly snake that assisted Lesedi and his grandfather Lorato to recover the stone. The story ends before we see Lesedi and his cousin Lotobo working together, and I hope this means that there will be another book to complete the tale.

This story is in two parts: Part I provides the history of the past while Part II is Lesedi's story in the present. Part II is more complex because of the number of people involved and their relationships to each other sometimes seemed confusing, at last for me. Overall, I enjoyed this story.

Jennifer Cameron-Smith

This is a story of African folklore and starts in the past with a very powerful god named Molemo. Molemo controlled the rain, drought, wind, storms etc. When he got angry with the way people were wasting water etc., he would cause a storm to warn the people to change their ways, and for a while they respected the land, but soon would go back to their wasteful ways. Finally Molemo had enough. He sent a furious tornado to destroy the people and villages. When he discovered his tremendous power was fading, he put everything he had left into a stone that would be passed on to whoever finds it.

Many years later when the land is dry and the people are dependant on water finders, a man named Moaki uses his son Ledimo's water finding powers and tells everyone he is the one with the gift. Finally Ledimo has enough and kills his father. He then finds the stone Molemo hid. Molemo comes to him as a voice and tells him he will now be a semi-god and have powers beyond his imagination. When he realizes just how much more power he has, he is thrilled. Ledimo will live for a very long time and when he dies the stone is passed to some of his descendants. But no one, including Ledimo, heeds the voice of Molemo, so there are many disasters.

This is the first African lore I've read, and I enjoyed the book, but the use of so many names that sounded alike kept throwing me off and I had to back track to see who was who on several occasions. In the second part of the book there are a few places that you have to pay very close attention or you will get lost. All in all I enjoyed the book and think it would be a good book for children and even adults.

With the word falling apart, it may be up to two young children to see the day through. "An African Tale" is a children's story telling of two descendants of a weather god. When water becomes an issue, it is up to them, despite their radical differences, to come to the world's aid. A fun read in a folktale style, "An African Tale" is a worthwhile pick for young readers.

An African Tale
By Enna Neru
ISBN # 978-1-4327-2348-4
Publisher: Outskirts Press

Set in Africa, the story begins in the past to give the reader an understanding of the history involved in order to bring the reader up to date with present times. Part myth, part truth, the story basically is generated around Ledimo (which means water finder), a God who appeared to be immortal and whom controlled the weather, such as draughts, floods and inclimate weather and all the water bodies..

As his powers begin to fade, he uses up most of his remaining power to salvage the waters and powers into a stone. He has two descendents whom must derive the powers from the stone as a somewhat "team" effort, meaning they had to work together and agree on the goal in order to do this. Since they come from very different backgrounds, this proves to be a difficult task. As the story progresses though, they come to depend on each other.

An interesting fantasy tale based upon myths and truths with a story weaved around it, the author sets the scene from the beginning, but later in the book, you have to pay closer attention as the story unfolds because it gets a little confusing. Still, I think the reader can form a picture in their mind of the events as they occur if they remember to keep the past events in mind as well.

All in all, a fine example of African lore sure to entertain children who seem to soak up information like a sponge. It's a great fantasy tale, reminding me of some of my grandfather's tales when I was a young girl, about far away places, magic, and ancient beliefs.

It is a great storybook to read to smaller children so you can explain things as you go along. But for reading purposes, more suitable for an older child who might comprehend the story better. It's a story children are sure to remember and possibly tell their own grandchildren one day.

Reviewed by Cindy Bauer
For Bookpleasures.com

The author lives on the edge of the Okavango Delta in Botswana in the southern section of Africa. The primary environmental issue in that part of the world is water, so Neru chose that as the primary item in the story. It is also a tale involving animals, semi-gods, natural weather phenomena and the changes from the traditional African culture. Two different yet co-exiting lifestyles exist on the Delta, the traditional rural one based on huts and agriculture and the growing modern one in urban areas with flush toilets, electric power, schools and cell phones.
Neru has woven a tale over several generations where the patriarch of the line is immortal yet acts inappropriately, causing the destruction of a village, including the woman he loves. A talisman then gets passed down to two grandchildren, one raised in a rural environment and the other in an urban one. The rules of usage are that they must cooperate if they are to harness the power of the talisman.
The beginning of the story runs fairly smoothly but it becomes disjointed in the second half, at times I had to stop and reorganize my thoughts in an attempt to determine exactly what characters were involved and what their relationship was to each other and those that had come before.
Since I lack a great deal of understanding of the mythology and folk tales of this area of Africa, it was often impossible for me to determine what was based on myths and what was generated by the author's imagination. Some of the animals have magic powers, there are flying donkeys, talking geckoes and at times snakes come to the rescue. It is an interesting story with a great deal of fantasy, and you must read it as that. Any attempt to take it seriously would be an exercise in anti-magic.